FIRE WITH FIRE

From the Burn for Burn series, volume 2

Age Range: 15 - 18

Revenge might be a dish best served cold but not when it’s as unappetizing and bloated as this sequel to Burn for Burn (2012).

At first, in the aftermath of the homecoming debacle, Kat, Lillia and Mary think they’re done with revenge. But then they regroup and focus their efforts on one person: star quarterback Reeve, who broke his leg after Lillia drugged him at the dance and who used to bully the still-fragile Mary. There are signs that Reeve has a crush on Lillia, so the girls decide she will get close to Reeve and then break his heart. This has the bonus of hurting Rennie, Kat’s nemesis and Lillia’s new frenemy. The movement of Lillia to the forefront of the novel and the slow growth of her feelings for Reeve are compelling, but Kat’s relegation to the sidelines and the strange supernatural powers that Mary discovers make the book feel uneven. When the truth about Mary is finally revealed, it’s just a distraction from the more interesting plot points—and feels totally unnecessary.

Clocking in at over 500 pages, this attempt by Han and Vivian to craft a Carrie-meets–John Tucker Must Die novel falls very flat. (Fiction. 15-18)